Alfred Lion

Alfred Lion, born April 21, 1908 in Berlin, Germany, died February 2, 1987 near San Diego, was the founder of the legendary jazz label Blue Note. He first traveled to the United States in 1930 while employed by a company, bought lots of records and settled in the U.S. by 1938. Began recording swing by 1939 and pressing records in the extended 12" format (normally reserved for classical music). Blue Note soon established itself as the finest label in jazz and had reached its zenith by the mid fifties to the mid sixties, when records of such artists as Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Art Blakey, Hank Mobley and Sonny Rollins were released. Lion operated the company (with Francis Wolff) until it was sold to Liberty in 1966.